What To Look For In A Good Hosting Company
Everyone needs hosting to exist on the internet, however all hosting companies are not created equal.
Therefore, you should treat purchasing your first hosting account, as though you were buying a home; and like a home, your website needs a solid foundation that’s able to endure continuous growth.
So, be sure to do the proper research and thoroughly inspect the company before purchasing hosting.
O.k… what should you look for in a good hosting company?
Check for secure server capabilities; this allows private info like credit card numbers to be sent safely over your site. Make sure you have fast servers, at least a T3 connection. Definitely find out how much bandwidth you have; most sites never use more than 10 to 15 megabytes. Be sure to check on your CGI access. You really want full CGI-bin access. Ask about their forum. The forum can prove to be most helpful in problem situations. Check on their deliver-ability or downtime. A good host should be up and running 99% of the time. Make sure they have C-panel. C-panel makes some of the web functionalities a lot easier to implement. Full email services should be included with each hosting package. Their should be no minimum contract, although buying hosting for a year or longer should result in discounted services. Test their technical support. Ask about power and daily server backups. Ask about shared and dedicated servers, and see which best suites your need. Make sure you’re not being charged for extra services. And finally, find out how long they’ve been in business.
This should help in your decision on which hosting company to use, but is by no means all the information you may want to obtain. So, do your due diligence before making the final purchase.
Here’s my top 5 hosting companies:
1. HostMonster
2. BlueHost
3. HostGator
4. LunarPages
5. RackSpace
Note: These are listed in no particular order, and totally depends on what you are looking for in a hosting company. Happy Hosting!
